Chemo Update: Time Helps a Lot

Its been 5 days since the PICC line was removed and each day things get a bit better. Based on this experience and the last one its the 3-4 days after the 5FU infusion that are the worst. This time was a bit different. On Monday I went in to get a shot to increase my white blood count and have blood tests done. This was day 2 after the PICC line was taken out so I was a bit out of it. The chemo nurses at the doctors office were great and we talked a bit about what was going on. Last time they increase the dose of the anti nausea drug and this time the steroid I take right after chemo was continued for a bit longer. All with positive results.

I explained that the problem on Monday was the 5FU was causing mouth and throat sores and the pain meds barely kept up with it. I also explained that with the mucus issue when I cough it up it would sometimes trigger a gag reflex and stomach acid would come up. Oh... I should have mentioned potential gross part coming up. Oops. :-) Then when the stomach acid hits the sores things really get wild. Of course at this time I wasn't talking again (More on that in a bit) so I had to write it out. That worked out well. In the past I have called in and tried to communicate as best I could with limited conversation or through Sue. Being able to write directly to them in the office worked out for the best. They made two more changes. First they increased one of the pain meds to help with the mouth sores and they put me on a drug that limits stomach acid for acid reflux. Between those two this time around has been better. Even when I have to really work to cough up the mucus (I warned you about the gross stuff) I don't get the stomach acid flowing. That avoids the chain reaction that goes along with it.

Another change I have made is I am currently sleeping reclined in a chair. Not too worry its comfortable and all that. I found that with the mucus level where it is currently at if I am in bed to sleep it tends to pool at the back of the throat even more and I wake up after an hour or two gaging. I still don't sleep more than 1-2 hours at a time but I don't wake up choking either.

One last change I made was the frequency of the feedings. The goal has been 8 cans a day doing two at a time. I still have the goal of 8 cans a day but now I am doing them 1 can at a time. Its more of a hassle with the PEG tube but the benefit is that if I do throw up I am only losing one can of nutrition. Also by feeding more frequently my stomach is empty less. This has an impact on nausea. I am up all hours anyway so doing 8 feedings a day really isn't too big of a hassle and it seems to have also helped with the side effects.

Relating this back to talking last week I was able to actually hold a few minute conversation with one or two people on the telephone. Today I am back to writing notes or if I have to barely uttering one word statements. What happens is I slowly get better after the chemo treatment... right up until the next one starts. Then I go back to the beginning again. I realized this with talking and also used this information to adjust how I dealt with the side effects. For example the farther away I get from the chemo treatments the less mucus I get and I can talk better. When that happens I start to reduce the treatments that I have to slow down the mucus. The reason is that those drugs were starting to cause severe dry mouth while sleeping. (Talk about waking up without a lot of fun. Whew!) What I figured out is that when the next chemo starts I need to go back to the beginning and start taking those drugs again or at least start to introduce them. An example would be the ear patch. About two weeks after the chemo ended I stopped wearing the ear patch. No problem then. However when this round of chemo started and I sensed the mucus building I started using the patch again. Essentially I need to adjust my treatment of the side effects on a regular basis. Until I get by the last chemo treatment my condition will continue to be one where I get a bit better, a bit better and then go back to the end of the line again. Armed with that knowledge I am better able to deal with the side effects when they happen. That has made it easier this time around. Fortunately there is only one more chemo treatment to go. Yippee!!

A Comment On Food..

I don't think I realized how much the swallowing issue was bothering me. I didn't dwell on it but it did bother me occasionally. Now that I think I have a good handle on that I don't think about it much anymore. I actually started to get interested in the cooking shows and such again. Food Channel (AKA the Food Porn Network) has changed a bit and seems to be more into competition or cooking that normally people can't do so that has become less interesting to watch. (Good Eats is still a fun show for the entertainment value) What I have found is that YouTube has lots of "home made" cooking videos that are geared more towards normally people. Yep... that's what I do when I am up late at night and can't sleep... check out cooking videos on YouTube. Sad but true. Seriously though I watched one the other day on making bread. It was about 10 minutes long. It turned out that I saw something similar on the Food Channel awhile ago and I think the YouTube video had more useful how to content than the Food Channel did. If you are interested in cooking there are some good things out there on YouTube. You have to search a bit. There also seem to be quite a few music videos of cooking but there are also some with good explanations.